“Quarterbacks and running backs have to be close, right?” I strain my neck to look up at him.
“We do, Blue, and we are. Tuck isn’t the number one running back in the country for no reason.”
I just nod at the information and realize it may be the most positive thing I’ve ever heard about Tuck, and in an odd sense it pulls me even further into his orbit. It’s clear Noah is a great guy, and he just totally gave the green light on Tuck.
“Ever been in?” He nods in the direction of the raging blue waters.
It takes me a minute to process his words, as I was in a knee-deep mental affair with Tuck.
“No. I’m just here to tan, not get eaten by a shark.”
“C’mon, you have to put your toes in, Blue.”
Noah nabs me by the elbow and guides me to the water, and I pull back every single step of the way.
“You better take that little dress off or you’re going to be soaked,” he warns as we near the ocean.
“Noah,” I try to yell through my laughter. “Stop, I don’t want to be shark poop in the morning.”
He doesn’t quit tugging, so I pull my sundress off over my head and toss it back behind me. Noah’s grip slips on my wrist, and I try to bolt back to my safe place on my towel, but before I know it, his large hands are grabbing me around my waist and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Noah,” I squeal.
He doesn’t answer me, but simply begins jogging toward the aqua blue water. I don’t know how close we are or when I’ll be going in. I just see my towel and happy place moving further and further from my vision.
“I can’t die.” I whap his ass with my palm.
He laughs, and when he does, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. It’s hard to focus on it since I’m bouncing up and down on Noah’s shoulder, but when I steady myself just enough I can make out a black hoodie and long pants running down the beach. Then I make direct eye contact with Tuck and my world stops when he pierces me with dark brown eyes. They seem nearly black as coal right now, and it pains me to the core.
He doesn’t break our stare and has a stone cold mask covering his face. I reach my hand out to him as if a final silent gesture asking for him to accept me in his life, and that’s when my back hits the ice-cold water and I freefall down into the depths of the ocean with it hugging every single part of my body. With clenched eyes, I relive the moment Tuck kissed me and the way it made me feel. I let it all take over as I float below the surface for a few seconds. And when my breath nears the end and panic mode is about to hit because of lack of oxygen, I finally get it. Tuck makes me feel this with his simple presence. He sends my whole body into a panic mode just wanting and needing more, even during our dark, silent runs. He’s as powerful to me as an ocean is to Mother Nature.
Popping up from the water, my hair mats to my face, and quickly I wipe it from my eyes while gasping for air and searching for Tuck, but he’s gone.
“Blue, you okay?”
I hear Noah, but can’t reply to him. My eyes continue to scan the beach for Tuck.
“Blue.”
I’m swooped from my treading water into Noah’s arms.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asks again.
I manage to nod and let him swim back to the beach with me.
“I’m sorry, Blue.”
“No, no. It’s not you at all. Trust me.” I sit in the sand, letting the waves run up and down my legs.
“What was that?” He sits next to me, drawing lines into the soaked sand.
“What?” I turn to face him.
“You were on another planet, Blue. I thought you were seizing or going to drown. I feel like an ass.”
“No, it wasn’t you.” I slap his thigh. “The water was just cold, and then I stayed under too long. I had to catch my breath.”
I’m pretty sure Noah takes the bait and relaxes a bit. I take a handful of wet sand and throw it on his legs.
“Payback.”
He just chuckles at me and I keep a close eye on his hands in the sand, knowing he too has a competitive heart.
“But did you die?” he asks with a crooked eyebrow.
Another handful of sand hits his chest, and I nearly die from laughter at the shocked look on his face.
“You little shit,” are the only three words that come from his mouth before he’s on his feet and dragging me back out in the water and trying to dunk me. I squeal and fight against it, but then again I’m under the water. We goof around for several minutes, then I let my body float peacefully among the mild waves before we hear Sophie’s voice and see her waving from my towel.
“We better go.” Noah grabs me again, dragging me back to the beach to join our friends.
With one foot out of the water and on the soaked sand, I feel myself wrapped up in Noah’s arms once again.
“You’re such a sucker. I always win.” He flashes his pearly whites at me before tossing me back into the water, and right before I go under I see him run up to the towels. And the most ironic part of the whole situation is Noah just gave me the sweetest gift he could—another glimpse of that kiss.
Chapter 10
The first week of college kicked my trash. Learning the ropes of courses and where everything was on campus about put me under, but then add in cheer practice, and my own workouts, plus my nightly runs, equals my ass thoroughly kicked. On the fourth day of college, I called my mom sobbing about the walk around campus and the lack of parking, and I’m pretty sure I ugly cried for about an hour to her, and I know most of the meltdown stemmed from sheer exhaustion. The next day a baby blue cruiser bike with a wire basket on the handlebars showed up for me, and I never wanted to lick a piece of metal so badly in my life. The bike is my lifesaver on campus, running from class to class.
During my senior year of high school I completed my freshman year of prerequisites, so academically I’m in second year courses, but still considered a freshman. Now three weeks in, I’m adjusted with my bike and schedule, and the schoolwork is easy enough for me.
I’ve seen Tuck every night while running, and lately he’s been staying closer to me while we complete our route. However, not a word is ever exchanged between us. Cheer practice has been great, and Stephie has actually stepped back and followed suit, which nearly made me choke from shock. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, the silence before the storm, and all sorts of warnings always flash through my mind when I’m around her. But I’m seriously starting to think she’s just miserable with herself.
“Sophie, I’m going to the gym.”
It’s a rare afternoon that she’s actually in the dorm room. Unlike me, when she’s not doing homework or working out, she’s sleeping. I swear she and Lane must fuck all night, every night. I take every moment I can to try and encourage her to get more involved in cheer and less in Lane, or at least her academics, but she never takes the bait.
“Naw, I’m going to take a nap, then I have class.”
“You should really get your lazy ass up.”
“Worry about yourself.”
It’s the same response I get every time.
“Okay, bye.”
I don’t feel so badass driving my bike to the sports gym and then back to the dorm, so I always walk, even though it’s a good mile or two with rolling hills to straight up mountains. The walk is one hell of a workout itself. I’ve found the best time to access this gym is in my spare time in the afternoon. It’s after my last class of the day and before cheer practice. I love and hate the gym. I love running so much I tend to get very lean and always need to tone my muscles.
When I finally arrive, a sheen of sweat covers my forehead and my water bottle is already empty while my bladder is full. As soon as I open the gym door the noise level is extremely loud when it’s usually a dull roar.
I bolt for the bathroom to drain and refill. Sprinting around the corner, I run into someone. I was so preoccupied doing the pee-pee dance I wasn’t paying a lick of attention. I bounce back hard from the collision, dropping my gym bag and water bottle to the ground. A hand catches my wrist, helping me steady myself, and when the blur of the clash comes to a halt, Tuck is holding me to his sweaty chest.